Where is Mount Ayu Dag located in Crimea? Hiking to Bear Mountain (Ayu-Dag). the most interesting facts - what Ayu-Dag is hiding

The majestic Ayu-Dag has been keeping its guard for more than 150 million years. It towers over the Black Sea coast as a huge rock mass, resembling a huge bear leaning towards the sea to drink. “Bear Mountain” amazes with its size, and from the top there is a beautiful panorama of the southern coast of Crimea and the slopes of the Crimean ridge. The mountain has a rich history, the echoes of which attract thousands of tourists every year, who enthusiastically conquer its slopes.

The Legend of Ayu-Dag

The name “Bear Mountain,” as local legend says, owes its appearance to an old and formidable bear, the leader of a pack that settled in these places and brought fear to human settlements. The clubfoot attacked people, but took pity on the little girl who was found on the shore. They protected her, fed her, took care of her. The girl reciprocated, sang songs to them in a charming voice and soon grew into a beautiful girl.

One day, on the shore, the beauty discovered a young man who had escaped from robbers and had been wandering in a boat on the sea for a long time. The girl saved him, went out and protected him from the bears. The young people began to spend a lot of time together: he listened to her singing, she listened to the young man’s stories about distant countries and travels.

Having fallen in love, they decided to run away from the bears, but they noticed their flight. The leader became very angry and leaned towards the sea, trying to drink water and pull the boat of the fugitives to the shore, and the flock began to help him. But the girl suddenly sang a song that touched the old bear’s heart. He stopped trying to drink the sea, letting the lovers go, but never got up from the coast again, turning into Mount Ayu-Dag.

Description

Ayu-Dag is a stone mountain with a maximum height of 571 meters and an area of ​​about 4 square kilometers. She is around Gurzuf and is not included in the chain of the Crimean Mountains, forming a large 2-kilometer cape. “Bear Mountain” is a “failed” volcano, which cooled down over time without ever breaking out to the surface. 18 types of minerals were discovered in its depths.

View of Gurzuf and Mount Ayu-Dag

The mountain has become a habitat for almost 600 plants and many animals, some of which are listed in the Red Book. There are 44 such Red Book plants, and 16 animals. On the slopes of Ayu-Dag, Crimean pines, oaks, hornbeams grow, and there are also relict juniper and pistachio. In the groves you can often see hares, badgers, martens, foxes, and squirrels. Of birds are common seagulls, woodpeckers, blackbirds, owls, turtle doves.

At the foot of Ayu-Dag, the sea coast forms many “wild” beaches, most of which can only be accessed from the sea. Covered with pebbles and stones of different sizes, they are not always comfortable. But their main advantage is the very clean water off the coast.

History of Ayu-Dag

Currently, it is officially accepted that the name Ayu-Dag received from the Crimean Tatars and their words “ayuv” (bear) and “dag” (mountain), who called it that way according to legend. But even 150-200 years ago, local residents in relation to “Bear Mountain” could hear “Big Fortress” (Biyuk-Castel). Scientists believe that the reason could have been a military medieval fortress, which was once located on the slopes of the mountain and controlled the area. Its ruins can still be seen on the mountain.

Bear Mountain. View from the sea

“Holy Mountain”, the second most common name, comes from the Greek “ayu” (holy). It is connected with the large monastery of Peter and Paul, founded on the initiative of Bishop John of Gotha in the 8th century. The monastery was located at the eastern foot of Ayu-Dag. According to some sources, it existed until the 16th century.

Archaeologists also discovered earlier traces of human activity on Bear Mountain. In particular, tools made of silicon, 7-10 thousand years old, and the remains of settlements on the slopes of the mountain were found. Historians suggest that until the 4th century they were inhabited by tribes of the Taurians, the mountainous people of Crimea, who both fought and traded with Greek colony settlements.

In 1423, a powerful earthquake occurs in the region. According to scientists, this event changed the geology of Ayu-Dag and caused the “disappearance” of water sources. Which, in turn, forced people to leave their homes forever and go down the mountain to the valley.

Why go to Ayu-Dag

“Bear Mountain” has been a nature reserve with “state” status and protected by it for more than 40 years. There are several hiking routes that can be used to climb to its top. They have several difficulty levels, so you can choose an option for travelers with different levels of experience. Tourists visit a number of places on Ayu-Dag, including observation platforms on the Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea coast, the “official” peak, the ruins of a settlement, fortress and temple, “Monastery Cape”, “Panair” Bay, Ai-Constant Glade and others.

View of Mount Ayu-Dag

Travelers, first of all, go to “Bear Mountain” for new impressions and sensations, to breathe in the healing mixture of mountain forest air interspersed with sea breeze, to get acquainted with the history of the famous mountain and to look at the southern coast of Crimea with the gaze of an old and formidable bear, lying down tiredly on the Gurzuf coast.

In this article I want to describe our one-day hike to Bear Mountain (Ayu-Dag), I’ll tell you what awaits you on such a trip, what you’ll see, and I’ll also try to tell you how you can make such a hike on your own. In general, I will describe in detail the questions that interested me when I was preparing for my independent trip to Bear Mountain.

From this article you will learn:

Brief description of Bear Mountain.

Bear mountain, like and the Golden Gate, is the calling card of Crimea, one of the most recognizable landmarks of the peninsula. And every self-respecting tourist is obliged to visit this wonderful place at least once.

Bear Mountain received this name because its outline resembles a bear who drinks water, lowering its mighty head into the depths of the sea and slightly raising its furry butt. And the forest growing on the mountain resembles wool.

“Bear's Fur” includes 577 plant species. To a greater extent, these are deciduous trees and shrubs, mainly oak, ash, and rose hips, but there are also coniferous plants. 44 plant species are listed in the Red Book. There is even a pistachio grove, although I never found it, or perhaps I just didn’t recognize it.

Bear Mountain also has another name - Ayu-Dag, which translated from the Crimean Tatar language means bear - Ayu, and mountain - Dag.

Bear Mountain is a failed volcano. Imagine, about 140 million years ago, in this place, magma tried to break free from the depths of the earth. And she “inflated” this mound 577 meters high above sea level, which became the calling card of Crimea.

Bear Mountain also has a very interesting mineral composition. I did not remember the name of these rare and valuable rocks, since I am not an expert in this field, and I would hardly be able to distinguish these rocks from each other. But some rocks have really high value, so, as a souvenir of the hike, I brought a beautiful pebble from Ayu-Dag. True, I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s not that important, the main thing is that it’s from Bear Mountain!)))

What other interesting things did I learn about Bear Mountain? This is that it, to a greater extent, consists of gabbro-diabase. This breed has a gray-green tint, and after processing it acquires a noble appearance. Therefore, this particular rock was used to decorate the first Moscow metro stations. The stands on Red Square also consist of gabbro-diabase.

At this point I finished my encyclopedic study of the mountain, and began to study hiking trails and interesting places on Ayu-Dag in order to create my travel route.

The goals of my trip and interesting places on Ayu-Dag.

After reading reviews from other tourists, I made a list of places that were interesting to me and that I planned to visit:

1) the highest point of Ayu-Dag - I thought that it would offer a panoramic view of the sea, but I was wrong and I will tell you more about this below;

2) the southernmost point of Ayu-Dag is Cape Monastyrsky - in clear weather you can even see Cape Meganom from it;

3) energy clearing - Ai-Constant - they say that this place feeds people with cosmic energy;

4) go down to the wild beach and swim in the crystal clear waters of the Black Sea, looking ahead, I will say that I never managed to swim in the sea on the wild beach of Ayu-Dag. But next time nothing will definitely work out.)))

A couple more words about Bear Mountain: I have seen Ayu-Dag many times from afar and it always seemed to me that it was a small tourist site that could be walked around the length and breadth of one day. This thought stuck especially firmly in my head at the moment when I was looking at Bear Mountain from the gazebo of the winds.

But I was very wrong in my judgment and during the hike I realized that climbing to the top of Bear Mountain is not as easy as it might seem at first glance.

I made two one-day hikes along Ayu-Dag: one independent “reconnaissance” from the village of Lavrovoe, with the conquest of the highest point of the mountain and with an extreme descent. And the second is a quiet walk, from Partenit, with the family to Cape Monastyrsky, with a visit to the Ai-Constant energy clearing and romantic gatherings near the sea. Below I will describe these two trips in detail.

Solo hike from Lavrovoye.

I got to Lavrovoe from Yalta by trolleybus. The time was about 30 minutes, the fare was 12 or 13 rubles, I don’t remember exactly.

Getting off the trolleybus at the Lavrovoe stop and walking literally 100 meters from the highway towards Bear Mountain, I found myself alone with nature. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the grass was green and this was in November!!! and all this made my soul feel good and carefree.

In order to start climbing to the top of Bear Mountain, I needed to go out onto the Artek trail, and for this, if you look at the photo above, I had to go a little to the right in the direction of the houses.

After 10-15 minutes I went out onto the asphalt and continued along the road. Soon a barrier appeared with a sign informing that a reserve begins ahead and that visiting this reserve is paid. But, as I already said, in winter you can visit Ayu-Dag for free.

I continued on my way.

And so the ascent began. The climb to Bear Mountain is quite steep and cannot be called an easy walk. I climbed myself and lightly, so it took me about half an hour to climb. But if I made such an ascent with a 3-year-old child, I would spend about 2 hours for sure.

The higher I climbed, the more beautiful the panoramas I saw. I saw the gazebo of the winds, to which I had also recently made a hike; far below I saw the village of Lavrovoe, from which I began my journey. Partenite was visible a little to the right, and soon the sea appeared from the direction of Partenite.

View of the village of Lavrovoe, from which I started my hike, and of Babugan-yayla.

It is difficult to convey the full beauty of the picture in a photo, because it captures only part of the overall view and does not convey the full power of sensations. By the way, in this photo it looks like I'm level with the mountains on the opposite side. But that's not true. On the opposite side is the highest point of Crimea - Mount Roman-Kosh, its height is 1545 meters, and the height of Bear Mountain is only 577 meters. But the views are very beautiful!!!

The rocky path, winding like a snake, gained height. Along the way, every now and then, there were markers, so it was difficult to get lost. But in wet weather you should be especially careful on such a path - wet stones are very slippery.

Also observing the beautiful views during the climb, I was looking forward to the fact that when I climb to the very top, I will see the endless sea along the entire horizon. But when I climbed up, I was very disappointed. I found myself in an oak forest and couldn’t see anything through the tree branches. In addition, it was late autumn, the leaves from the trees had half fallen off and the picture was not very joyful. Beautiful, but not at all what I expected to see her. So I was very surprised and upset.

Soon I came to the highest point of Bear Mountain, where a stone tour was built. Not far from the tour, I saw tourist mail (a small box of dry rations with the inscription “mail”), which contained letters from other tourists who had conquered this mountain peak. In the letters they wrote who came from where, their names and warm wishes. To be honest, it was nice to read such letters. And I also wrote my letter with good wishes for other travelers.

And he went on his way to the bear's head. I didn't like this part of the journey. Yes, good nature, a forest path, but I planned to see a completely different picture. There was a deciduous forest all around, and it was difficult to figure out where exactly on the “bear” I was.

The path began to go sharply to the left, and I began to think that I had missed a fork somewhere. Thoughts of going back to the tour began to appear in my head, but at that moment the path led me to a clearing, where a halt suggested itself.

But in the clearing the question arose in front of me, where do I still need to go? Because there was a fork in the clearing, one path was the one I came along, the second went towards Partenit, and the third led down, and near it there was a stone tour. Well, I decided that the third path leads to the bear’s head, and the second leads to Partenite and is my exit, and along it I will return back. But in reality it turned out to be a little different.

So, I continued my journey and soon came to the second clearing. The stone tour here was larger. And again there was a fork in front of me: the path along which I had come, a path going sharply down and a path leading a little to the right. I decided that the path going sharply down leads to a wild beach, and the one to the right leads to the bear’s head. And I went right, but this path led me to a dead end. There were large rocks at the dead end and they had a view of the sea, but again not as panoramic as I had imagined.

In fact, in the second clearing, a path going sharply down leads to another fork. And now at this fork, the third in a row, there will be a stone with yellow arrows in three directions: to the left is the exit to Partenit - to the Crimea sanatorium, to the right to Cape Monastyrsky - the southernmost point of Ayu-Dag, and up to the second clearing.

But at that moment I didn’t know this. In addition, the tourists I met completely confused me, saying that the dead end with the stones was the bear’s head. Frankly, at that moment I was disappointed with the hike. I imagined completely different pictures and landscapes. It was with such gloomy thoughts that I decided to go down to Partenit.

I returned to the first clearing and at the fork I followed the path, which, as I thought, was the descent to the city. But I was wrong. This path still led me to the city, but it was not a tourist path. It was a steep extreme descent. A couple of times I lost sight of the path and had to make my way through the forest, but I still managed to get onto the path again. The descent was very steep, a couple of times I even fell and rolled on my fifth point, miraculously I didn’t tear my pants, but I got them pretty dirty. But I was pleased with the descent. It is absolutely forbidden to go down this path with children and large backpacks. Keep this in mind.

The “extreme” trail took me exactly to the Raevskikh road, right at the place where the tourist route along Ayu-Dag begins, if you come from Partenit. There is a metal booth at the checkpoint to the reserve. The trail is well-trodden, wide and has many yellow markers and arrows.

But my journey was over, and along the Raevsky road to Cape Monastyrsky I decided to travel next time, together with my family.

I walked around the Crimea sanatorium a little more, scouted out the area, found out where the bus stop for Yalta was and went to the beautiful beach of the sanatorium to admire the excellent sea view, which I really liked. Can you imagine how great it is to sit on the pebbles after a difficult journey, listen to the sound of the surf, drink hot tea and watch the dusk fall over the sea. Very good!!! I still want to sit like this...

Hiking to Ayu-Dag with family from Partenit.

We got to Partenit from Yalta by bus, which departs from the upper station of the Yalta bus station. Buses run every half hour, the fare is 30 rubles. It takes 30-40 minutes to get to Partenit from Yalta.

You need to get off at the final stop. This is the Partenit bus station. When you get off at the stop, you will see a fence. The territory behind the fence is the military sanatorium “Crimea”. You need to walk along the fence away from the sea. In about 10 minutes, you will reach checkpoint No. 1.

In general, as soon as you get off the bus, you can immediately go to checkpoint No. 2 or 4 (I don’t remember the exact number), and ask the guard how to get to the tourist route to Ayu-Dag. They will tell you. They say that in the summer there is a fee to enter the sanatorium, so along the fence along the entire path there is a narrow but well-trodden path along which you can get around the sanatorium and not pay an entrance fee.

But this route is not the most picturesque and is quite long. Plus you will have to overcome a stream and a couple of steep descents and ascents. This is not the best route for children, so bargain with the guards, maybe they will take pity and let you in for free.)))

We made our hike in November and entry was free, but all the same, Auntie the security guard was a little doubtful whether we should be allowed into the territory of the sanatorium or not. She asked for passports, but we didn’t take documents on purpose for the hike. But she still let us through.

The territory of the sanatorium is well-kept, I would gladly relax here. I also really liked the beach of the sanatorium, so I advise you to go to the beach if you find yourself in these parts. On the territory of the sanatorium there is a sign describing the route along Ayu-Dag, we studied it and went on a journey.

There was no one at the checkpoint to the reserve, and in the summer time one would again have to pay for entry.

And we began the ascent, which was quite steep, and although the climb was only 100-150 meters, I was tired, especially since Arthur often used my neck as a means of transportation.

Soon we saw a fork. From the wide path along which we climbed, a narrower path left, and on the stone there were arrows in three directions. A narrow path led to the Ai-Constant energy clearing, but we didn’t know this yet and thought that this was a “shortened” route and decided not to turn off the main path.

Soon the path led us to a very beautiful place - to a cliff from which a stunning view of the sea opened up. We were at an altitude of 100-150 meters above sea level and heard the distant sound of the surf. It was at this point that we decided to take a break with a snack, take a short breath after getting up and calmly enjoy the beauty of nature.

Steeply down, a narrow path left the main road and along it a group of tourists came out to meet us, and the main one was with an accordion. Can you imagine seeing this! It turned out that this path leads to the Ai-Constant clearing, which we passed through, but it is difficult and it is better to follow it accompanied by a guide. But I’m a Russian person, and on the way back I went to the energy clearing along this path.

By the way, in this place you can go down to the wild beach, but the descent is very extreme, and then, naturally, you have to climb back, so we didn’t go down to the beach, although I really wanted to swim. This beach is not crowded even in high season.

Having rested a little, we continued our journey. From the path there was a stunning view of the sea. Along the way, every now and then we came across yellow dandelions, and this was in November!!!

And so we came to an intersection with a stone with arrows, which I never reached on my first trip. One path went up, you need to follow it if you want to get to the top of Bear Mountain, and the second path led to Cape Monastyrsky. Our path ran to the cape.

This is what the southernmost point of Ayu-Dag looks like - Cape Monastyrsiky. You can approach the cross on the cape, which I naturally did. The views were simply amazing!!!

In this place you can also go down to the wild beach, but we did not do this with a 3-year-old child. From above, the stones on the beach seem small, but in fact they are huge boulders. And according to reviews from other tourists, it follows that going into the water is very problematic, since there are large and slippery stones in the water, but on hot and sultry summer days this does not stop anyone.

A little higher along the path we noticed a table with benches and decided to have a snack. Next to the table were the ruins of some kind of fortress. Tourists who passed by told us that there used to be a Russian garrison here, and the ruins of the fortress are the remains of barracks. In general, on the territory of Bear Mountain there are many ruins from different eras. Previously, there were human settlements here, and on the mountain itself there were sources of drinking water. But over time, these sources dried up and people were forced to leave in search of water.

Having rested, we decided to head back. We decided not to go to the top of Ayu-Dag, since there was nothing to see there. We decided that it would be better to visit the I-Constant clearing and recharge ourselves with cosmic energy.

At our first stop we decided to go our separate ways. I walked along the path from which a group of tourists with an accordion came out to meet us, and my beloved and Arthur walked along the wide path to the first fork near the stone. The meeting place was set at the Ai-Constant clearing.

The path I took was picturesque, but really quite difficult, I even lost it a couple of times, but eventually I came out into a clearing. From the clearing there was a good view of the sea and a dilapidated church.

But I can’t say that she impressed me. I don’t know if we managed to recharge ourselves with cosmic energy, I’m not good at it.))) This is where our journey through Ayu-Dag ended.

Arthur conquers Ayu-Dag

We went down to the sanatorium and went to the beach, listen to the surf and drink hot tea.

I hope my article was interesting and useful for you! And after reading it, you can make an independent trip to Bear Mountain. I also hope that this article will help you understand that Ayu-Dag is not as small as it seems from afar, and it took me two days to walk only in the most famous places of the mountain, without even going down to the wild bear beaches.

Many people don’t know, but until the 18th century, bears lived in Crimea. Until they were exterminated, the following story happened. A package with a little girl washed ashore on the wreckage of a ship. The bears decided to keep the child. This is how a beauty with an extraordinary voice grew from a sweet baby and one of the most touching legends about Mount Ayu-Dag was born.

One day a girl saw a boat with a young man. He escaped from slave traders and was caught in a storm. The bears' ward hid the wanderer and brought him out. The young people fell in love with each other and began to prepare for a journey together: they made a sail and repaired the boat. As they sailed away, the orphaned pack tried to drink up the entire sea to stop the couple. When the animals realized the stupidity of the idea, the leader continued and became petrified...

Why you should visit Ayu-Dag

Mount Ayu-Dag (Bear Mountain) in Crimea is not only one of the calling cards of the peninsula. If you like energetically strong places, you should definitely come here. These are medieval ruins that remain from military garrisons and settlements in different eras. This is also a unique mineral museum, because the “mound” was formed not as usual, but by volcanic means. This is also a nature reserve with rich flora and fauna.

You don’t even need to study the map before climbing Ayu-Dag - every step will open up picturesque views and amazing finds. In early spring, on the “back of the bear” you will find clearings of snowdrops. Perhaps you will see other Red Book plants, and here there are more than 40 of them. What if you want to check the authenticity of the latest rumors about UFOs and aliens? Or visit places of power: Taurus sanctuaries, basilicas, the Mound of Desires. And there is a lot of interesting things here.

Where is Ayu-Dag located and how to get to it

Bear Mountain was formed on the border of Big Alushta and Big Yalta, between and Partenite. How to get to Mount Ayu-Dag if we are traveling by car? It is most convenient to start the journey from Yalta and get to Partenit or Gurzuf. In the first case, we end up in the Crimea sanatorium, in the second, in the Artek camp. Entrance to these territories is difficult, but there is an advantage - you can negotiate parking for your car.

Another option is to drive behind the bear from the highway. If we are coming from Yalta, the landmark is the public transport stop "Cemetery", if from Alushta - the village of Lavrovoe. It is better to park your car near the highway in one of the guest houses. In the middle between these two points there is an asphalt road perpendicular to the route. This is another trail to Ayu-Dag.

After about a kilometer there will be a passage to the territory of the reserve. From October to April, no fee is charged for this, but in the summer, foresters name a symbolic cost for visiting Ayu-Dag, and sometimes register tourists in a special book.

Someone will ask - why all these “difficulties of access”? Let's go to another facility! But those who have conquered the heights of the Ayu-Dag Mountains know that nowhere else there are such views and natural beauty. And what kind of photos do you get on stone embankments... Just be sure to take water with you on the road.

The remains of medieval buildings are preserved here - witnesses of a large fortified settlement. The medieval settlement with temples, a Christian burial ground, internal and external defensive walls arose in the 8th century and existed until the 15th century. The ancient entrance to the mountain was located on the site of a tourist trail that passes through a gap in the fence of the excavation ring-shaped fortification.

Ayu-Dag is called one of the natural mineralogical museums of the South Coast. In the depths of Ayu-Dag, up to 40 minerals out of 200 found in Crimea have been discovered and studied. These are crystals of golden pyrite, needles of black tourmaline, green epidon and prehnite, black hornblende, rare vesuvian, lomonite and others.

Not long ago, a dense purple amethyst was discovered in the coastal cliffs of the massif. Only the “geological Mecca” of scientists - Karadag - can compete with Bear Mountain in terms of mineral wealth.

A collection of ancient tools was found in the “cultural layer” of Bear Mountain of a later time and, in principle, could have ended up at the foot of Ayu-Dag by accident. It cannot serve as direct evidence of the appearance of man in Crimea in such a long time. However, the current theory is called into question, requiring arguments - albeit speculative, but more powerful than just “chance”. Moreover, the same scientist excavated a similar collection as on Mount Bear along the Tsar’s Path, near the village of Gaspra.

On the southwestern slope of Bear Mountain, where the International Children's Camp "Artek" is located near Ayu-Dag, the Tauri lived from the 4th century BC until the first centuries of the new era. They dryly, roughly but firmly laid stone terraces to level the soil for vegetable gardens, and built nondescript, squat houses on them. Somewhere near the Bear Mountains, herds grazed, and here, to the inviting smoke of the hearths over which women cooked, their husbands returned from hunting or fishing.

The vegetation of Ayu-Dag is very interesting and unique. From a distance it seems that the slopes of the mountain are covered with bushes, but in reality the “fur” of the giant stone beast is a real dense oak forest with green meadows, paths and ancient roads. 580 plant species have been identified here, of which 60 species are listed in the Red Book. The top of the mountain is densely covered with oak forest: the largest population of centuries-old sessile oak trees in Crimea is concentrated here, of which there are about 200 individuals. The age of the trees is 500-800 years, the trunk diameter of such old-timers reaches 100-150 cm.

There is a belief among the local population that Pushkin visited Mount Bear in 1820. In Karasan they carefully protect the “Pushkin” alley of cypress trees, but the road there passed through Partenit. The guides will be happy to show you which way Alexander Sergeevich came here “at the serene hour of the morning”, which cliffs attracted his eyes and feelings.

There are legends that this is the most energetically powerful place on the mountain and in the whole of Crimea, and witches allegedly use it when they organize their covens here, and magicians and warlocks conduct their rituals here. The mountain attracts both famous people and those who need healing and hope that if they are saturated with special cosmic energy in this place, a miracle will happen and illnesses will recede. Well, it may well be that, as they say, there is no smoke without fire, and the power of faith only enhances the effect.

At the eastern foot of Bear Mountain, the main temple of the monastery was built - the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The remains of the basilica are preserved on the territory of the military sanatorium “Crimea” in the village of Partenit. In addition to the monastery, a number of small settlements appeared on Ayu-Dag in the Middle Ages. The monastery and settlements existed until the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, and then, after the Ottoman conquest of the southern coast of Crimea in 1475, they fell into decay and disappeared. A number of researchers believe that the main reason that forced people to leave Ayu-Dag was the dehydration of the mountain, which began after the earthquake of 1423.

The area of ​​Bear Mountain is about four square kilometers, the height is 577 meters above sea level. The huge massif protrudes into the sea for about 2-2.5 kilometers and extends 2400 meters to the northwest. The shape of the mountain resembles a huge bear lying on the shore and as if drinking water from the sea.

The name Ayu-Dag is translated from Turkic as “ayu” - bear and “dag” - mountain. Bear Mountain is clearly visible from any side of the South Coast. In ancient times, the mountain was a landmark for sailors and had a different name - Kriumetapon (Ram's forehead).

Mount Ayu-Dag (click to enlarge)

Since 1947, Bear Mountain has the status of a historical and archaeological monument. Here you can see the remains of medieval buildings, which indicates the presence of a fortified large settlement in ancient times, when people lived here. Settlement
arose in the 8th century and existed until the 15th century. It had internal and external defensive walls, its own temples, and a Christian burial ground. A very ancient road leads up the mountain to the observation deck, along the edges of which you can see the remains of old masonry that protected the path from talus.

Slopes of Mount Ayu-Dag (click to enlarge)

In the area of ​​Cape Monastyrsky and Panair Bay there is a real botanical Bear Mountain - a pistachio grove, which has no analogues. This grove is quite ancient; at the beginning of the 20th century it was well known to Russian botanists conducting research in Crimea.

If you use your imagination, you can see the bear’s eyes and even a black leather nose (click to enlarge)

On the mountain Ayu-Dag There is a national reserve with an area of ​​527 hectares. Relict trees cover the slopes of the mountain. The rare butcher's broom, evergreen strawberry tree, bush jasmine, Crimean cistus and other rare plant species grow here. In the forest covering the mountain grow eastern hornbeam, downy oak, pine tree, tall juniper, pear, rowan, maple, ash, and beech.

Animal world Bear Mountains also quite varied. Here you can find wild boars, deer and roe deer, squirrels and hares, badgers, martens, foxes, hedgehogs, bats, etc. Sixteen species of mountain inhabitants, including the gecko lizard and leopard snake, are listed in the International Red Book. Gulls and cormorants nest on the slopes of Ayu-Dag, turtle doves, woodpeckers, tits, owls, jays, blackbirds, sparrows and other species of birds live in the forests.

Mount Ayu-Dag from a bird's eye view (click to enlarge)

In the old days, you could climb Ayu-Dag along the path named after. General N.N. Raevsky Jr., coming from Partenit. The length of the trail is 2.5 kilometers. It starts on the northeastern slope of Ayu-Dag near a stone quarry, then goes around the mountain from the north (slightly to the left of the road from Partenit to Artek), then goes along almost vertical cliffs and rises to the top in gentle loops. The ascent takes about an hour.

View of Mount Ayu-Dag from the village of Partenit (click to enlarge)

Currently, the Ayu-Dag reserve is surrounded by a fence and you can get to the mountain through the territory of the Crimea sanatorium, which occupies most of Partenit. The sanatorium has introduced a pass system and if you want to walk along the alleys of the park for which Partenit is famous, look at the famous color and musical fountain “Prometheus” or go to the Ayu-Dag reserve, you will have to pay a small amount for the passage. But Ayu-Dag is not the property of the sanatorium, is it? And therefore, even at the checkpoint, compassionate guards will tell you where you can find gaps in the fence to get to the path leading to the top of Ayu-Dag.

View of Ayu-Dag from the sea and from the village of Gurzuf (click to enlarge)

WITH Ayu-Dagom or Bear Mountain There are many legends associated with it. One of them tells about a girl who was picked up after a shipwreck by huge bears living on the peninsula, controlled by a formidable leader who became attached to the girl with all his bear heart. The girl grew up and turned into a beautiful girl with a wonderful voice, and all the animals and birds were ready to endlessly listen to her singing.

One day, the sea washed ashore with an exhausted young man. The girl hid the boy and came out. Strong love took possession of their hearts and the girl decided to sail away with the young man to people. But they didn’t have time to go far. The leader of the bears saw the boat and, at his command, the bears fell to the sea and began to greedily draw in the water. The boat was inexorably approaching back to the shore. Out of despair, the girl began to sing and in her song begged the leader of the bears to spare her and her lover. The old bear, who loved the girl with all his heart, heeded her pleas and released the fugitives. And he himself remained lying on the shore, looking longingly into the sea. And so the old bear petrified, turning into Bear Mountain.

Mount Ayu-Dag

From the top of Ayu-Dag a picturesque panorama of the Gurzuf Valley, surrounding mountains and Artek opens. If you go around Cape Ayu-Dag from the sea, you will see a real natural cutting-edge, where almost round cores are obtained from diorite blocks, ground by the sea, and inaccessible cliffs are broken by cracks and fissures. If you sail a boat along the slopes of Ayu-Dag, you can go into a small grotto. Here nature did not skimp on colors. The upper part of the grotto is painted in blue tones, which gradually turn into green and purple shades closer to the water. The grotto has incredibly beautiful turquoise water with a greenish tint. Such a riot of colors comes from the sunlight penetrating into the grotto from the outside. The grotto has amazing acoustics - the sounds seem muffled, but at the same time you can hear every splash of a wave hitting the sides of the boat. One involuntarily gets the feeling that you are in some mysterious cave and that an unknown underground beast is about to appear.

Grottoes at the foot of Ayu-Dag

Water at the foot Ayu-Daga It is crystal clear and the opportunity to dive will interest lovers, since for days there are a large number of different stones - from bald to overgrown with thick algae, where a lot of all kinds of living creatures are found and exploring the local underwater world is quite exciting.

Have a nice and unforgettable experience!